


nobody there but me

by yeswayappianway



Category: DCU, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics)
Genre: Gen, Songfic, functional exes, vague depictions of death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:35:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23474071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeswayappianway/pseuds/yeswayappianway
Summary: “Areyouokay?” Dick asked slowly, almost delicately.“I am okay,” Kori said. She felt as if her stomach was trying to crawl out of her body. She tried to concentrate on driving, the road dark and empty in front of her.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Koriand'r
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	nobody there but me

**Author's Note:**

> title from Wreck on the Highway, by Bruce Springsteen
> 
> plot... also largely of from Wreck on the Highway. basically i listened to it yesterday, got REAL sad about like. mortality. and decided to dump all those feelings into some fic. i also really wish there was more content about dick and kori being friends after they broke up.
> 
> i know people have Strong Opinions about spelling it Kori or Kory but personally i have a thing about spelling shortened names as close to the longer name by default so, that's why i went with Kori

Dick sounded alarmed when he answered his phone, which Kori had expected. Less expected was the first thing he said.

“Is Jason okay?”

Kori froze. “Did something happen to Jason?” She could wait if something had gone wrong. She had already started planning where she could leave her car to fly to somewhere for a rescue when Dick answered.

“What? No, I thought—I thought that’s what you were calling about, that something happened to all of you,” he said, and Kori recognized the confusion in his voice.

“No,” Kori hurried to say, “Nothing has happened. I am not with Jason and Roy, they are…” she thought, trying to remember where they had said they were going. “I think they were going to Florida? We encountered Oliver Queen on our last mission and Roy said he deserved a vacation.”

There was a pause. “That’s good, then,” Dick said. He stopped expectantly after that, but Kori didn’t know how to fill the space. “Are _you_ okay?” he asked slowly, almost delicately.

“I am okay,” Kori said. She felt as if her stomach was trying to crawl out of her body. She tried to concentrate on driving, the road dark and empty in front of her.

From the phone, Kori thought she heard Dick moving around. Had she woken him up? Surely not, she thought, she knew the hours they all kept. Then again… Kori looked at the clock on the dashboard of the car. 1:52. She had trouble remembering time differences, but she thought it might be nearly four in the morning in Gotham.

“If you’re okay, and Jason and Roy are okay, then… why are you calling me? We don’t exactly talk much,” Dick said, and Kori heard the hint of bitterness that lived behind his words.

Had it truly been that long since they had spoken? “I… I am sorry. I should not have called. Did I wake you up?”

“No,” Dick said firmly, and she could imagine him shaking his head, hair bouncing a little with the forcefulness of the gesture. It was something she had seen many, many times. “No, I haven’t gone to sleep yet. Got back from patrol half an hour ago. Don’t worry about it.”

Kori almost snorted. _Don’t worry about it_ , he said. That was another thing she had heard from him many, many times. “Someday you will let us worry about you the way you worry about everyone else,” she said, the familiar pattern of an old argument coming to her without any effort.

Dick did laugh at that. He stopped quickly, though. “Seriously, Kori, what’s wrong? You wouldn’t have called me if there wasn’t a reason. What’s up?”

She was quiet. How could she explain the pit in the center of her chest? How could she tell him why she called when she barely understood herself? “I…” Kori began. “I… saw something.”

“Something suspicious?” he asked, suddenly businesslike.

“No,” Kori answered quickly. “No.”

“Are you… driving?” Dick sounded a little disbelieving.

“Yes. I wanted to visit San Francisco again. It has been too long since I have been there, and it was suggested to me that I should… take a road trip.”

Dick choked on another small laugh. “Did Roy put you up to that?”

Kori wanted to smile, but she didn’t feel like she could. “He and Donna agreed that it would be good for me to see more of the country. I believe Donna thought I would benefit from time away from Jason and Roy as well. I…” Kori hesitated. “I have not spent much time alone lately.”

“Well, if Donna and Roy are agreeing on something, that’s a sure sign it’s a good idea,” Dick said. He sounded cheerful, but it was forced. 

“It has been,” Kori agreed instead of pushing him. “I have seen many charming sights and I have enjoyed the experience.”

“Did something happen tonight?” Dick had always been perceptive, especially towards her, but them again, maybe this was obvious.

Kori tried to open her mouth and speak but her throat felt thick. She could see the scene in her mind, and it was hard to feel like she wasn’t somehow about to see it again as she kept driving. “I saw… a man had crashed his car.”

Dick was silent, and she tried to put into words how it had felt seeing it.

“When I saw it, there was already an ambulance there, but I saw them pick up the man.”

When she trailed off again, Dick asked, softly. “Was it just him?”

Kori nodded, even though she knew Dick could not see. “It was. I think… I think he was already dead. He was not in the car. There was… there was blood on the road. And glass.”

“Jesus,” Dick murmured. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“I have seen many corpses,” Kori said, sharply. “That was not new to me.”

“I know,” he said simply. “But that doesn’t make it easier,”

Kori took a long, shuddering breath. She gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I… I couldn’t do anything,” she whispered. “No one did that to him. It just happened. I try—we try so hard to save people from terrible fates, but terrible fates befall people anyway.”

Dick didn’t answer but Kori could hear him breathing.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t know why I called you. I felt… After I saw that, I…”

“Sometimes you just need to hear another person’s voice,” Dick said, and it was warm. He said it like he understood intimately. “You need that reassurance that other people are alive, and that you’re alive, especially when you get such a big reminder that it’s so easy for someone to stop being alive.”

Kori couldn’t answer. She could feel tears beginning to pool in her eyes and her throat was even tighter than before. “Yes,” she pushed out. It sounded ragged to her own ears. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Dick said immediately. “You can always call me, Kori, you know that. I know I was surprised earlier, but I don’t mind at all.” He paused then. “We’re still friends,” Dick said and her heart hurt a little when she realized he sounded uncertain.

“Yes,” Kori answered. “Yes, of course,” she said, although she realized that she had also been uncertain. It had been so long now. When had she even last seen him?

Maybe Dick’s thoughts had run in the same direction, because he said, “Maybe once you finish your big western road trip, I could come visit you while you’re out there? I wouldn’t mind checking in on the Titans, embarrassing Damian in front of his team.”

Kori smiled slightly. “That would be… good.”

“Great,” Dick said and she could hear the smile in his voice. “Let me know tomorrow when you think you’ll get out there and I’ll fly out and we can meet up.” He was quiet for a moment and she thought maybe that was it, but then he added, “It will be nice to see you again.”

“I look forward to it,” Kori said honestly. “I will let you sleep now. Thank you, again.”

“Anytime,” Dick promised. “Be safe, Kori.”

“You too, Dick,” she responded. “Good night.”

The car was quiet after she hung up, but the feeling of isolation had lessened. There were people out there, and a world beyond this deserted road, and now Kori had real plans for the future. It made it easier to keep driving, so she did.

**Author's Note:**

> this is set in my headcanon verse where kori and jason and roy are a team but nothing else even vaguely resembling RHatO ever happens. i guess that's not actually important here, i just feel like i need to say it always. someday i'll actually write the fic i've been dreaming about for a year with them.
> 
> come hang out in the comments and talk to me about kori and dick post-breakup, bruce springsteen, or teen titans feelings in general!


End file.
